The Detective And The Dragon
by Agent Glitch
Summary: Shinichi Kudo. A name that never appeared on the newspaper again. A name of a detective who never solved any more cases. It turned out that he was poisoned. And the effects of the pill were unbelievable! Were dragons real? Well, you have your answer to why Shinichi Kudo lost his fame. Cover picture by me.
1. Moon

**So I've decided to make another story. Not surprising. Inspired by Fluehatraya. I liked the idea of Shinichi-to-cat, so maybe let's spice it up a little?**

**"**_There I was again tonight,_

_Forcing laughter, faking smiles_**"**

**~ Enchanted **- _Owl City_

_Blue eyes. They shone with young pride, a sense of duty, accomplishment, and a light of recognition. Every time they blinked, the glow grew brighter. Above them were dark brown-black bangs._

_His voice resonated throughout the room. His words were certain as he spoke. One hand was in front of him, pointing at a person. Everyone else looked on with either shock, wonder, admiration, anger, disdain, surprise, and sadness._

_But not him. He held his hand in the air with both his eyebrows curving above his eyes, which were narrowed intensely. Whenever someone protested, he would answer with calm authority. When they questioned him, he would reply smoothly, as if he expected every inquiry set before him._

_He was young, but he was smart. He had many tactics set up in his mind. Sometimes he would trick people into admitting their mistakes. Sometimes he pointed out proof until no one could deny him. Sometimes he only hinted his deductions, until everyone could understand what he was leading to._

_It was a scene that had often repeated itself. It was a game that he played every day. It was a routine that was expected and unpredictable at the same time. It had become a part of his life. A mark on his worn-out calendar._

_But no longer._

Shinichi gazed at the moon from within his house. Yes, he was in his house. No, not his large house, not that one. Now he lived in a small apartment, closer to Ran's house. Why?

Well, that would be difficult to explain.

_He fell to the ground, knocked out cold. He couldn't move. Red, white, yellow, blue, and green lights flickered on and off within his eyesight. His consciousness dimmed until it was a faint spark of comprehension._

_Two men, clad in black, addressed each other. What they spoke of included violence and darkness, of things that should have been kept secret._

_Then on of them plopped something in the detective_

_detective's mouth. It was small. From somewhere, water trickled into the teenager's mouth. Then, in a flash, the men were gone, leaving the detective alone._

_The detective woke up to find himself in a hospital. There he found out that he had blacked out because of a wound on his head. It was bandaged now, and he had almost completely recovered from his shock. _

_He did not speak about the transaction he saw, for he was uncertain of what he had been forced to take. Maybe it was some sort of pill that would kill him... Maybe it was a tracker device that would lead the men to him and lead him to his death... He did not know. Whatever it was, it was taking its time._

_He ran to the home of one of his friends, a professor that he knew could help him. He asked about what item he had swallowed, and whether there was a way to get it out of him._

_And that was when the pains began. They attacked him like poison-tipped, flaming iron spikes. His heart beat frantically, each birdlike flutter only causing more flares to hurt him. He felt as if he were in a cage, a hot-metal cage where there was no escape, no relief, only torture._

_Slowly, ever so slowly, the warmth in his stomach grew into fire, a flaring orb that shot out like lightning. The heat was so shocking that he almost passed out. His belly hurt, his lungs singed. He felt as if he were burning inside. Every breath only made him feel worse, like inhaling toxic smoke. _

_Pressure developed, almost crushing his lungs. It wrapped itself around him, like a coiled anaconda. Every move he made was strained. He was unaware of everything around him. All that he could think about was how to run away from whoever set this against him. He sucked in more air, and realized that it was as impossible as breathing underwater._

_He built a barrier against the pain, which only caused the force to ram into him even more strongly. Like a rhino, it charged ahead and, when impact struck, held still before striking again. It was crushing him, pounding against his weak defense._

_He forced his eyes to snap open. All he could see was darkness. He felt like a trapped animal being ripped apart alive. And he could have sworn that he had felt himself falling... falling from the sky. Instead of rushing up to meet him, the ground swallowed him up, bringing him down into an endless void._

_But he tried so hard not to give in. He would not be controlled by this unknown seizure. He struggled to fight again, clashing his physical sword against his insubstantial enemy. Like in war, his helmet was crushed, his shield dented, his sword dripping with his own blood. His armor torn, the metal only weighing him down._

_But one could only stand for so long before he had to kneel down._

_With what he thought was his last, shaky breath, he surrendered to the pain._

_He felt like an airplane trying to fly against the wind, one that turned around and followed the current. But he was not the plane anymore, he was the wind, and it was the pain that received the upper hand. It tore him into pieces._

_Beginning to awake again, he crept out of his mental cage and opened his eyes, this time seeing. What he saw unnerved him. He saw his friend, the professor, stepping away from him, as if in fear._

Why? _He did not know. He tried to speak, but only a short, quiet croak came out. He still felt like himself, but that did not last long. _

_Suddenly itches spread out across his skin. They were not as painful as the seizure before, but they were very, very annoying. He could not move at all. When he looked again, he felt his skin bunching up, as of hardening. Then, to his utter disbelief, they turned into _scales.

_The scales were still skin-colored, but they astonished him nonetheless. His mind pulsed thoughts of what he always noted as nonexistent. Then the scales began to darken in color... but that was not all that occurred._

_Pain exploded from his spine, shooting up sparks of insincerity. Then he felt something growing from each bone in his spine. He tried twisting to see what they were. He saw them faintly, but they were spikes. Definitely spikes. A long membrane connected each spike to another, creating what looked like a sail on his back, like the ones some types of dinosaurs had. His clothes were now ripped and just hanging from his skin._

_Then he could feel his own skull morphing. It pushed his snout forward, which almost made him gape. Only then he realized that his face was also scaled. And the scales were this terrible, horrible black. They had a gradation, growing from his black nose to gray once it reached his cheek. His face was still forming itself. He felt something pushing his cheeks, and he realized that they were spikes. Two under each cheek. Then his head spun, making him dizzy. He was still lying on the floor, so he attempted to get up. He succeed shortly thereafter._

_From his head burst a pair of ridged crusts. They looked like horns, but fully encased by scales. His ears had disappeared. And his tongue... when he stuck it out, it had become long, but not forked like that of a snake's. Now his own face felt strange and reptilian. He could not describe it in any possible way._

_Then he turned his head around and saw that his back was now lined neatly with spikes. It was daunting. Then he saw the fact that his shoulders were lengthening... and this time actual _wings _formed._

_At first he thought they were just two scale-clad spikes protruding from his shoulders. Then they grew in size and branched, and soon more think membrane split between them. Only then he confirmed that they were bat wings. But they were grey._

_Then something caught his attention; surely he couldn't twist his head enough to stare at his shoulders! Then he twisted his head back, and realized that it was his neck doing all the work. It had grown without him noticing, making him taller. _

_As if all that wasn't enough, his toes and fingers slowly grew in size and began to throb. Then the skin around them disappeared, revealing bone. It was horrifying. The the bones merged into one, becoming shiny, ivory white claws._

_Then an extra limb revealed itself. He refused to acknowledge the fact that he had a tail. But he did. Still with the line of spikes and membrane until the end of this odd little thing._

_He tried to speak. Desperately. But instead of words, flame came out. Those dreaded, greedy tongues of heat. They didn't hurt him, however. At least, not on the outside._

_Pieces of cloth fell to the floor. He shook himself, realizing what he was now. _

I am a dragon.

It had all been like a dream to Shinichi. A dream, one that he was trapped in and could never escape from. He was no longer what he used to be. Plus, his life was threatened. And yet he was not fully dragon. It was a complicated prospect.

He could still change back into a human, which he was thankful for. But he rarely did so, spending more of his time as a winged creature. It wasn't easy being like that, not at all. He felt like he was out of place, the cloud among the many stars, the dandelion among the roses, the jackal in the wolf pack, the tiger in the lion pride.

Life as a half-dragon was odd. He spent most of his life hiding at home, hoping that no one suspected anything strange in him, hiding from the organization. He would have warned the police, but he didn't, afraid of what many chemicals they had. If he was a weredragon, think of all the terrible things _they _could become.

But why give him this advantage? Surely they didn't choose the wrong pill? Or did they decide to trap him somehow? A dragon flying among the metro skies would attract attention. Unwanted attention. Shinichi would never know.

As a dragon, Shinichi was the same size as he was in human form, minus the wings, long neck and tail. He had an odd pattern, one that was hard to describe.

To start with, he could stand on both two legs and on four. His hands were slightly lengthened. He had a face similar to a crocodile's, but more angled. It was like the head of a scaly horse, but with lengthened ears that were ridged. And the ridges appeared just in front of his eyes. His eyes were still the same, sapphire-purple blue.

His neck was long and armored at the bottom, scaled at the top. From there his sail rose up, and the membrane between them were like cloth. His chest and belly were also armored, and so were the top sections of his arms. His sail followed his tail, and his wings stretched. His wingspan could have been over ten feet.

His scales were mainly dark gray, his armor light gray. Some of his scales were black. The black was like flame, the gray smoke, but his armor was all in one light gray color. His pattern helped at nighttime, but made him easily seen in daylight.

His claws and feet were larger than they were supposed to be, and his strength was undeniably enhanced. He could smash a brick wall as if it were made of paper. He could carry things that would have been too heavy for anyone else to hold, but only in dragon form. He had to make sure that he wouldn't overestimate his strength.

Breathing fire was also added to his list of abilities. And when he was in his dragon form, he could only speak through body language.

Shinichi could control his changing, so that he could spend time as either shape whenever he wanted. But, as days passed, he rarely changed back to a dragon.

After a recent clash with the organization, he met Shiho Miyano. She – other than the Professor – was the only one outside the organization who knew about the transaction, the pill, and pretty much everything else. In fact, she was also able to shape-shift.

She referred to those who could change shape as 'experiments.' It disgusted Shinichi, but the name was set. And every experiment had its own code name. Shiho's was 'Citrus' while Shinichi's, according to her, was 'Silhouette.' For some reason it pleased him.

Shiho could turn into a dragon like him, except that her scales were a dazzling sunset orange. She had yellow armor plates and greenish eyes. Her sail, unlike his, was an entirely different color: dark sunset purple.

The brunette also told him that she could not reveal everything. Shinichi had tried to probe her, but was unsuccessful. He did not even know why she wouldn't talk, not even if he pried her mouth open.

No one else knew about the experiments, nor that Shinichi himself was one of them. Not even Ran. It was hard for him to keep it a secret, as he knew it was something that meant a lot to him.

And when he met a case, Shinichi was still the detective to call, but he never let anyone know that he solved any more cases. No longer did his name appear on newspapers, and no longer that people remembered his name. He was just another high school boy. Your average teenager.

And all that passed through Shinichi as a thought as he gazed at the moon.

But what will happen if conflict arises? The organization are on the move, and there can't be good in that. Shinichi will have to do what he can to do what is right, and, dragon or not, he was still a detective. Only one truth prevails!

_**A/N **_**: for those who were wondering why I haven't updated Gettin' Back At 'Cha, I can't think up any pranks! Help!**

**But if you're here for this story, please follow of you like it, maybe favorite, and perhaps set aside two minutes to write a review? Thanks!**

**I hope you like what I've given you, Agent Glitch out!**


	2. Forest

**So, I see you've taken an interest and decided to read the first chapter. Well, the second one is up, enjoy!**

**Well, I never was a fan of Kid, so either you never see him or he's only a minor character. Sorry guys. If I get enough probing though, you might be lucky.**

**But what about our favorite Osakan detective? **_**That's **_**something I'd write about. Ooh, would you like him as a dragon too? Or maybe a different creature? Maybe a wyvern?**

**FYI, when in dragon form Shinichi and Miyano – as Haibara Ai never existed in this story – speak with telepathy, much like the dragons in the Inheritance Cycle, if you ever read it. To match up with that, telepathic speaking will be in italic.**

**Well, enough chitchat, read on!**

**"**_I forget the last time I felt brave_

_I just recall insecurity_**"**

**~ Tidal Wave **- _Owl City_

_It's been a while. _Shinichi flexed his claws. Huge dark gray wings loomed over his head. Black scales rustled against each other. His sail flapped mildly in the forest breeze. He shifted his weight from one leg to another, supporting his entire body weight on his left side. Overhanging branches caressed his stiff wings.

He was in the forest. It was located far from home, so there was little chance of him being sighted. He had hitched a ride with the professor, who had gone to take the kids Ayumi, Mitsuhiko and Genta to the trees to go 'forest hunting' which would eventually result in toys and games. He had said a simple 'I'm going outside for some fresh air' to find Shiho somewhere in this forest. She had wanted to 'analyze him further' which was probably only an excuse for herself to have a chance to change herself. Nevertheless, he still came.

As a dragon, things became very different. Changing shape wasn't too painful, but when it began Shinichi tended to get disoriented. Scents became stronger, his sight became sharper, sounds were louder, and it also seemed that he had developed a sixth sense to detect the heartbeat of every living animal or human. He usually became dizzy for a moment before getting the hang of himself again.

Even though he was in this forest, there was no true guarantee of safety. He had only wanted to be here for a short time. Shiho, or Miyano, as he called her, was in human form and was inspecting him closely. She was observing his 'extra limb where his sail ended.' Shinichi would _not _call it a tail. If he was feeling nice, he would call it a rudder. It often annoyed Miyano.

She poked the membrane between his last two spikes. Shinichi had to stifle a soft growl. The touch hurt. Then the brunette took out the journal she held in her hands and began to scribble quickly. Shinichi had no idea what it was that she wrote. He arched his neck to get a better look, but she had already finished and flipped the book shut.

_Why on earth would you still need to 'analyze me further' anyway? _Shinichi spoke telepathically, his voice sarcastic.

"Because I can't analyze myself and write on my own." Her voice was taut. And that was as it should be, as they had already gone through this conversation many times.

_Well, get on with it quickly, _Shinichi grumbled heavily. While she meddled with him further, Shinichi amused himself by tracing a design on the ground with one oversized claw. When he looked again, he realized that he had written _seriously? _on the ground. He hastily covered it up, hoping Miyano hadn't noticed.

"Over here!" suddenly a squeaky cry came. With his enhanced hearing, Shinichi predicted that it was Ayumi, and that she was still far away. But he could never be too careful, and the thought of a little kid screaming 'dragon' through the city unsettled him.

_Should we get away from the little girl? _he suggested. Miyano stood there silently. _Okay, I'll take that as a no._ As a human, she probably never heard the call. Shinichi forced himself to relax. As he turned his neck around to get a better view of Miyano – who had begun to inspect his wings – again he admired his flamelike pattern. _Silhouette. _He liked what his experiment name was. It suited him.

Now he turned again, sniffing. Another scent poisoned the air. It was only a whiff, but the smell carried a human scent. The wind was blowing towards the dragon, so the human that carried the scent would have been further away. But this forest was beginning to get crowded, and Shinichi felt restless. _Let me change back, _he urged.

Miyano gave him some privacy, saying that they would meet again, perhaps someday this month for another 'inspection' and left. After a fast change and a struggle to get his clothes on, Shinichi dropped down to work erasing the traces of a great beast. He wasn't too big, and he was lucky that he didn't scratch any of the trees' bark. All there was were giant reptilian footprints. With his shoes Shinichi brushed dirt over them in the small glade, at the same time bouncing a ball around with his knees to disguise himself as a teenager who had just happened to play in this small clearing.

He was just in time. Mitsuhiko parted the bushed in his way and whined, "Shinichi-niichan, why haven't you helped us with this code?" His innocent face amused Shinichi. It was scrunched up, trying to make Shinichi pity him.

Then Ayumi went out, along with Genta. Ayumi added, "Shinichi-niichan, Genta-kun and Mitsuhiko-kun aren't smart enough to figure it out." The two boys shot glances at her, but she didn't care. "Can you help us, Shinichi-niichan?" she pleaded with her best imitation of puppy eyes.

Laughing, Shinichi scratched the little girl's head. "Of course I'll help, but you have to put your heads in this too. Or else I'll be the one to get the treasure. So you're going to be the little detective group that's going to help me. Deal?" He picked up Ayumi and let her sit on his shoulders.

"Deal!" the kids chanted in unison.

**"**_'Cause it came down like a tidal wave_

_And sorrow swept over me_**"**

**~ Tidal Wave **- _Owl City_

A soft rustle sounded as he turned the book with his left hand, his right hand on his lap while he was sipping water. After a hefty day of treasure hunting, the kids ran home joyfully with teddy bears flying from their arms. As for Shinichi, he dashed back to his lonely little apartment. He still had his key to his old house, and he longed to still live there, but Miyano had informed him that the organization had already send people to investigate there once in a while. So now, here he was in a room that wasn't half as remarkable as the one he grew in.

Eventually he finished the drink in his hand. He set down the glass on the table with a _clack._ Now he rested while reading his book. Soon he got bored of it and finished reading the book, closing it with a soft noise before placing it back in its small shelf next to his school bag. The he picked up his half-read newspaper. He read through the rows of black letters untuk he found a very, very disconcerting one. The words _Shinichi Kudo. _

_No, no, no, no, this can't be,_ Shinichi stammered in his mind. He read up and down the article. The headlines were _Shinichi Kudo, High School Detective, Solves Cases Again! _The article contained all the information of Shinichi's latest cases and their results. _What stupid person leaked all this information?! _Shinichi began to panic.

At that very moment, the phone rang. Shinichi looked at it hesitantly. _Should I pick it up... _Shinichi dove in and snatched the phone. "Hello?!" he hollered.

"YA NEVER TOLD ME YA STILL SOLVE CASES! HOW DARE YA! YA THINK YA CAN BEAT M' JES LIKE DAT?!" Yelled a familiarly rough voice that almost made Shinichi laugh. "Hattori, eh? So you read the news."

On the other side of the phone, Heiji didn't calm down. "Ya never told m' ya still solvin' them cases! So yer tryin' a' get even with m' again, eh?"

"Whoa. Whoa. I never wanted my cases to be published, hey, hey, hey, so don't work up a storm, will you?" Shinichi glanced at the newspaper again. "I'm in the middle of something."

"Hey, wait, ya – " Heiji never finished his sentence as Kudo hung up. He huffed. Little did Heiji know what problems were directed at Shinichi. Without further ado he jammed Miyano's number and she picked up immediately. "Kudo. You heard?"

**"**_Then I was given grace and love_

_I was blind but now I can see_**"**

**~ Tidal Wave **_- Owl City_

Miyano had been fussing all over the fact that Shinichi Kudo had appeared again. Now that the organization knew that he was alive, Kudo would have to be more intent on what he did. He needed to be more cautious. They couldn't do anything, of course, but they could hide. They would have to be very careful.

To make matters worse, Heiji and Kazuha were coming to visit him and Ran. The Osakan pair – although they never wanted to be called that – were going to Tokyo, partially because Heiji was still fuming over the fact that Shinichi and he were still neck and neck. Kazuha, of course, always came with Heiji. Shinichi smirked as he remembered himself using the made-up term _Kazuhaphobia _on Heiji. The Western detective had redoubled on surprise and embarrassment.

Now all Shinichi could do was pace back and forth in his apartment. Waiting used to be easy for him, but now that his life was at stake he couldn't calm down. Sweat beaded his neck and he was muttering curses here and there. "I never should have done this, why did I ever become a detective, foolishness for getting caught, I hate poison, I hate dragons, I hate my life," and on and on and _on. _He wondered why he didn't dig up the floor with his pacing. He wasn't even dizzy. When he finally got a grip on himself, he realized that he was still on his dirty shirt and jeans. He changed quickly, washing his face at the same time.

Cool water probably did the trick. After a splash he felt much calmer. He took in a deep breath and sighed. Now he just waited by reading again. After all, he was a detective, wasn't he? That was what he should do, get more knowledge on things.

Time passed and Shinichi hardly noticed it. His bright blue eyes danced across the surface of the book pages, and as he read he became absorbed into the challenge the writer set before him. The writer noted the suspects' attributes, and soon Shinichi learned the trick. _The culprit is that person... _

Just as he ended up getting to a cliffhanger, he heard a knock on his door. "Coming," he stumbled to the door angrily. He had almost learned who the fictional killer was, and the Osakan just _had _to come in at that moment. Flustered, he jammed the door open. "What?!" he greeted ungraciously.

"Er... excuse me?" Kazuha raised an eyebrow from her position behind Heiji. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with a small red ribbon. Around one wrist was a small, dainty pink watch. She wore a brown leather jacket and a striped shirt underneath.

"Oh, sorry." Shinichi apologized. He realized how unwelcoming he must have sounded like.

Heiji just shot him a confused look. The detective wore a shirt and a pair of jeans, and, as always, his cap was on his head, visor down. "Hey," he stepped into the apartment room. "Why did ya hang up earlier?"

Shinichi fumbled for an excuse. "Something...came up," he responded vaguely. The expression on Heiji's face made Shinichi know that he would have liked to know more, but he held his tongue. Shinichi was grateful for that.

Kazuha announced, "I'm going to Ran's place," and glanced back at the two detectives. "You'll be okay, won't you? I mean," she broke off, embarrassed, "both of you. Don't argue too far, will you?" And with a sweet smile, she walked outside, closing the door with a gentle clap.

"So," began Shinichi, "she's still acting like your girl, ain't she not?" He let an amused smile spread throughout his face.

Heiji blushed. It was a quick blush, and he tried to hide it, but Shinichi still saw it. "She ain't my girl! And how 'bout 'cha, eh, that beautiful chap o' yours?"

Now it was Shinichi's turn to go red. "She's fine. Better. At least she hasn't slapped me as much as yours. Anyway, did Kazuha _really _cut your heart out with a cotton bud and threw it to the sea?" Briefly he remembered a day when Kazuha aimed the threat to Heiji.

"Yer not much o' a detective if ya can't see that fer yerself..." Heiji smiled.

"Well, I guess she ran out of cotton buds and went to Tokyo for more?" Shinichi ventured humorously.

"Letta do what she gon' do." Heiji turned and ran his finger down Shinichi's window frame. "So why ain't 'cha still livin' in that great ol' house like ya used ta?"

"Well, let's just say that something _else _came up?" swallowed Shinichi hopefully.

Heiji shook his hand. "Naw man, c'mon, ain't it jes a lil' thing?" Shinichi shook his head. Being targeted by a mysterious organization and being forcibly changed into a half-dragon was _not _a 'lil' thing. It was serious, and he could die if he gave Heiji the wrong answer.

"..."

**"**_'Cause I found a new hope from above_

_And courage swept over me_**"**

**~ Tidal Wave **_- Owl City_

After a bit of conversational pushing and pulling, Shinichi managed to convince an annoying Heiji that he was having personal predicaments and that he didn't want to talk about it, which wasn't exactly a lie. Seemingly satisfied, Heiji lay back in his seat. They had been speaking for as long as Shinichi could remember. He counted all of Heiji's quick remarks.

_"Don'cha jes tell m' yer livin' in this scrap jes 'cause ya feelin' unhappy as a rich guy."_

_"Ya livin' 'ere 'cause there's a bigger chance o' runnin' into a case? 's pretty crowded 'ere all right."_

_"Jes 'cause that big 'ouse jes too big fer ya?"_

_"Ya likin' it 'ere, closer to that girlie o' yours?"_

That last one had caught Shinichi _completely _off guard. The look on his face after Heiji said that must have been funny; Heiji burst out laughing.

Now Heiji was sitting leisurely, probably waiting for Shinichi to break the ice. But instead, nothing came out between those two. When Shinichi caught himself again, he realized that Heiji was glancing at the ceiling with this idiotic grin on his face. "Hey!" Shinichi waved his hands in front of Heiji's face. Heiji jerked as if he just woke up. "What?!"

"You were staring into space with this –" Shinichi stopped and let his head hang low, tongue out and eyes closed "– stupid look on your face."

Heiji straightened up. "Naw, not me!"

"Yeah, you!"

They continued to war with words. Suddenly Shinichi felt a terrible blow hit his head from behind and he was no longer aware anymore as his eyes closed and he faded away into nothingness.

**A/N: -Gasp- what happened? Will Heiji really take his pill? Cliffhanger!**

**P.S. Shinichi hates his tail.**

**Thanks for reading, Agent Glitch out!**


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